


I'll Follow

by aliciajazmin



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Martha Jones Deserves Better, Mystery, Not Children of Earth Compliant, Not Exit Wounds Compliant, Post-Series 03: Children of Earth (Torchwood), Slow Burn, mentioned owen harper/diane holmes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:26:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24311992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliciajazmin/pseuds/aliciajazmin
Summary: Toshiko Sato and Martha Jones are the only two people left on Earth after everyone else simultaneously disappears. The two of them resolve to figure out what happened and bring them back.
Relationships: Martha Jones/Toshiko Sato
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. We Are Here Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning For The First Chapter: While here's no actual scene of someone throwing up, there are brief mentions of vomit and the feeling of nausea.

Clutching the edge of the sink counter so hard, it was digging into her hands; Toshiko glanced around the restroom. The overhead lights just barely lit up the room, so this wasn’t the easiest task.

She let go of the counter and pulled out her flashlight, hoping that she wouldn’t find a specific source for the smell of vomit. Not that it would be the grossest thing she’d seen. 

A love song started playing, muffled by the door. Something to celebrate the newly engaged couple, she guessed. Her brain replayed the mental image of Owen gently placing a ring on Diane’s finger before kissing her. When Diane came back, Tosh figured that this would come sooner or later but to actually see it affected her more than if she had only heard about it. Why did this “thing” have to be in this restaurant of all nights? She could only hope the pair hadn’t seen her bolt down the hallway.

“Tosh? Did you find anything?” Gwen’s voice came through the comms. Tosh really wished right then that she and Gwen could switch places but the latter had just gotten off maternity leave.

“No, not yet. Still looking,” Tosh replied. She decided not to mention that Owen and Diane happened to be there.

“This says you’re close.”

Looking around for anything that didn’t belong in the restroom of a restaurant in Wales, she pushed her heartbreak aside - well, she tried - and saw it.

Just on the tile floor in the corner of the room, stuck between a garbage can and the wall: a slick and shiny purple object.

She carefully picked it up. It was triangular in shape, almost flat, with the corners smoothed off. Seemingly due to the touch of her fingers, it started to vibrate violently. Dropping it to the floor, she watched as a blue beam of light shot out of it and then detached itself from the device. 

The beam moved around the room in no particular pattern, stretching from floor to ceiling. It paused at moments as if it was searching for something. She took a step back when it started to move towards her but this was a mistake. Pursuing her further until she was backed up against the edge of the counter, it landed on her. She closed her eyes against the light.

She reached for her comms and said, “Gwen? I found it.” Feeling very sick all of a sudden, wanting to hurl, she desperately waited for Gwen’s response but it didn’t come.

Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the floor. The light was gone. “Gwen, are you there?” she said. Tosh couldn’t see the device and frantically looked around for it but it was gone. The same song was still playing.

Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she tried Gwen’s cell only to discover that there was no signal. Her scanner couldn’t pick up the device, so she stepped into the hallway to try her cell again. She realized that aside from the music, this restaurant had gone very quiet. Frustrated, she put her scanner and cell away and walked towards the dining room. “Owen?” she called out. “Diane?” Growing worried, she picked up the pace and was greeted with the sight of nothing but empty seats and tables covered with untouched food.

Not a single soul remained in this restaurant. 

“Owen!” she said again, running towards the kitchen. She tried the phone in there to no avail. The song came to an end, leaving nothing but dead silence apart from her footsteps and short breaths.

Deciding to leave the restaurant, she hoped that she would find someone. She felt like she’d gone mad. Once she stepped onto the pavement and looked around, she saw that there was a definite lack of people. There was usually someone, even in the night hours. Chills ran down her spine as she came to decision. She ran towards her car and drove back to the Hub at a faster speed than she normally went, seeing as there were no other drivers on the road.

The vault door opening was the most lively thing she saw upon entering the Hub. She looked at where Gwen had been sitting, the chair in the exact same position. When she walked over she saw that the computer was still on. Turning it off, she went over to her own workstation and used her computer to check for any unusual rift activity. She couldn’t find anything that would cause something of this scale. Torchwood technology was functioning as usual but she couldn’t send a signal to anyone for help, and probably couldn’t receive one. 

She thought about how this was the sort of thing The Doctor would handle. Wouldn’t it? Maybe it was just Cardiff that was affected but what if it wasn’t? She had his number, she would just need to send him a message somehow, if he would even show up. She tried not to think about the 456 as her brain scrambled to find the exact next step.

Exhausted, she decided that she would need caffeine. Hopefully, she still knew how to use a coffee machine after relying on the coffee shop and Ianto for so long.

As she prepared her drink, she thought about quiet the Hub was now. The silence felt even bigger knowing that no one was coming in. She was completely and utterly alone. “Just me. Okay.” She'd worked many cases on her own, she could do this right? She figured that maybe afterward she could try and find the SUV, or go back to the restaurant with more equipment.

Once she had her cup, she slowly raised it to her lips and blew on it before the sound of the door made her jump. She carefully put it down, having nearly spilled it on herself. Moving quickly towards the door to see who or what was arriving, she realized she didn't have a weapon on her. 

Through the door arrived someone that wasn’t at all what she was expecting.

“Tosh?” Martha came to a stop, stiffening. She tightened her grasp on the strap of the work bag slung over her shoulder and looked at Tosh with worried eyes. “Where the hell is everyone?"

Tosh could only stare, having even more questions then she originally did.


	2. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now Tosh knows she's not alone but what are the two of them supposed to do?

“I don’t know,” Tosh eventually said, folding her arms. “I’m trying to figure it out.”

Martha sighed. “Yeah, it’s weird. I was walking along the street and I passed this alleyway and spotted something that didn’t seem right,” she said, letting go of her grip on her bag. “It was a device of some sort.” Going on, she described the exact same thing that happened to Tosh, moving her hands as she spoke. “Next thing I know, everyone is just gone. Could that one device have caused this? Is it worldwide?” She walked up the steps and stood in front of Tosh.

“How do we figure out if that’s the case? I found the exact same type of device and experienced the same thing, but it disappeared,” Tosh replied.

“Mine, too… Do you think we did this?”

***

The two drove through Cardiff in Martha’s car, passing businesses whose lights lit up the night and remained empty. Tosh sat in the passenger seat with her mug and glanced at Martha. Tosh had never been as close to Martha as the others were, so she wasn’t the first person Tosh wanted to be stuck with but she was. Logically Martha probably was the best person to be stuck with. Jack had trusted her when the world was ending. Tosh still didn’t quite know what that meant but after the Daleks, she figured she had some idea.

Martha’s lips parted slightly as she examined their surroundings while keeping her eyes on the road.

“How did you get to the Hub so fast?” Tosh asked.

“Oh, I was staying in a hotel here. I was supposed to come by tomorrow.”

“Really? Just a visit, or...?” Tosh took a sip.

“Well, maybe just a visit but I’m not sure.” Martha smiled thoughtfully.

Tosh waited for her to elaborate, tapping her fingers against the sides of her mug, but she didn’t. Tosh turned her attention back to the vehicle’s surroundings.

“It looks like it’s not just the people who are gone,” Martha said.

“Yeah, our pterodactyl is missing. Or hiding.”

“Maybe it took a few animals but left most of them?” To seemingly prove Martha’s point, Tosh saw a pigeon perched on the side of the pavement. “Also, I think maybe most or all of the cars on the road disappeared along with the people. I don’t see any car crashes and the only cars we’ve seen were parked. See that turn there? If cars turning there suddenly lost their drivers…”

They would have crashed into the shops, and we haven’t seen anything like that,” Tosh finished.

“Exactly.”

“Maybe we should look at where we found our devices again.”

Tosh gave her the address for the restaurant she had been at and they parked right in front. When they got inside, Tosh’s nose was hit with a whiff of food starting to go bad. Otherwise, everything was exactly as she left it.

Martha glanced around. “So where exactly did you find this device?”

“In the restroom down that hallway,” Tosh said, taking a step in that direction.

“Wait is that Owen’s wallet?” Martha said.

Tosh stopped in her tracks and looked at what Martha’s confused gaze had landed on. She was right. It was sitting on the table she saw him sitting at and had fallen open, showing his ID. She remembered the engagement.

“Was he here with you? To find the device?”

“No, him being here was a coincidence. I don’t think he ever knew I was here. He and Diane were distracted.”

“By what?”

Tosh inhaled. “He proposed to her.”

“Oh, wow. Really?” Martha smiled, her eyes lighting up.

Tosh nodded, trying to smile. “Yeah, he loves her.”

“You okay?” Martha asked, her smile fell.

“I’m fine. I’ll show you where the device was.” Tosh started down the hallway without waiting for a response.

***

They stood in the middle of the restroom. “I tried using the scanner but there was no trace of it,” Tosh said, her voice growing increasingly frustrated. Then she looked around the room again and spotted something. “Wait..” She bent down and looked at a small pool of orange liquid on the floor. It could have been no bigger than the base of her coffee mug.

“What’s that?” Martha bent down next to her.

“That wasn’t there when I woke up,” Tosh said, curiously.

Martha glanced at her. “Then how did it get there. Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know. But if there’s one where yours was, it had to be connected.” Tosh stood up.

Martha nodded and looked up at her. “Let’s get a sample. We can get one from mine - if there is one - and compare to see if there are any differences in its’ composition, whatever it is.”

“Right.”

They collected a sample and Martha took Tosh to the alleyway where she saw the device. It was mostly empty except for two garbage bins and some stray trash scattered across the ground. It didn't take too long for Tosh's flashlight to find a similar puddle. A cold breeze brushed across Tosh's skin as she made eye contact with Martha and they agreed it definitely wasn't a coincidence. The two went back to the car, now with two samples and Tosh's empty coffee mug.

“You love Owen, don’t you?”

Tosh looked down at her lap. She heard Martha shifting in her seat to face more towards her.

“Just… your reaction at the restaurant, and that time I spent working here way back when… I guessed that you had feelings but I wasn’t sure how deep they were. We weren’t exactly close-”

“I’m fine. It’s fine.” Tosh shook her head and forced a smile.

“Are you sure? I’ve been there…you know? Not exactly, but I’m pretty sure I know how you’re feeling.”

“I… don’t really want to discuss it right now..”

After a moment, Martha nodded. “We should go back to the Hub, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

***

Back at the Hub, Tosh went to the med bay after checking to see if the weevils were still locked up. They were all gone. She leaned over the railing and watched Martha step away from the microscope. Her hair was now tied up and she was wearing her lab coat.

"The weevils are gone. Maybe anything that's come through the Rift has disappeared,” Tosh suggested.

"So are we saying that this is connected to the Rift then?"

"Maybe. It still doesn't explain why people and their cars disappeared, though." She waited for Martha to tell her what she had found.

"This? Is definitely alien. Not a substance you'd find on earth, anyhow… not sure what it is exactly." Martha threw away her gloves. “We need more information.”

The two went to Tosh's computer. Tosh started pulling up files. "If I can find a record of this device or something similar, it might give us a lead."

"How long will that take?"

"... Could be awhile."

"I have an idea. You get started on this. I'll be back." Martha headed back to the med bay. Tosh quickly glanced in her direction, hoping whatever she had planned would give them something.

She put her glasses on and looked through file after file for something that resembled the device they found based on her memory of it. About to start trying to search with different keywords - as she had trouble narrowing down her search - she heard Martha clear her throat.

She saw her standing at the top of the stairs leading to the med bay.

"I found something interesting. You're gonna wanna see this." Martha gestured for her to follow.

Taking off her glasses, she followed her down to where the scanner was humming with life.

"See, now watch what happens when I put my hand on the scanner."

She watched Martha do so. Where it should have shown a scan of her body was nothing.

"What am I looking for?"

"Nothing. Nothing! That's exactly it. You give it a try."

Tosh put her right hand on the scanner and Martha removed hers, accidentally brushing her hand against Tosh's. Tosh pursed her lips and sharply turned her face towards where the scan of her body should be. There was nothing. "It can't detect us. It should be able to. The machine isn't broken, is it?" Her brain then put some of the pieces together.

"I think we might not completely exist anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's A LOT of stuff going on in these first couple of chapters, I know. It made it harder to edit but I'm hoping that it will slow down a bit now. I also want to try switching to Martha's perspective for a chapter at some point, instead of just having it be Tosh's perspective throughout the entire story.
> 
> I hope you like this! Feel free to leave a comment/kudos! I'm @toshsato on tumblr.


	3. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Up next on the figuring-this-out agenda: Sleeping arrangments.

Martha was reeling with this new information. What did it mean precisely? Tosh suggested a way of confirming this and so Martha followed her to Jack’s office, where Tosh eventually revealed a box that contained some sort of alien artifact. 

“We dug this one up last week. It only responds to living heat signatures. We figured it out when Owen tried to use it.” Tosh stood behind Jack’s desk and opened it up, revealing a metallic looking cube. Rotating it in her hands, she sighed. “It should be doing something by now.”

Martha took it and tried to mimic the movements Tosh’s fingers made and also similarly, it received no results. Martha wasn’t even sure what it was supposed to do. “So that confirms it,” she said.

Tosh frowned. “Now what do we do?”

Almost on command, Martha stifled a yawn. “Sleep? Then we can figure it out tomorrow with clearer heads. Who knows how long this is going to take?”

“I know,” Tosh said, “It’s just weird to be thinking about sleep _now_ especially.” She put the cube back in the box and sealed it shut.

“It’s nighttime. Most people would be thinking about sleep,” Martha said.

Tosh smiled. “We’re not most people, though.”

Martha smiled back. “No, we’re not.“ She tension she felt dissipated a bit.

“I think I might just sleep on the sofa here tonight. I don’t have enough food back at my place and I would like to get right to work on this in the morning. When the Hub blew up, we lost a lot of files on alien artifacts but some were backed up on our software,“ Tosh said.

"I almost forgot about that. This place doesn't look that much different from when I was last here." Martha looked around. "Didn't want to try something new?"

"Trying to get everything back to normal."

"As normal as it can be." 

The two of them left the office. Martha went and put on her jacket, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She approached Tosh, who was already standing in front of the sofa with a folded blanket.

“I’m going back to my hotel room. You’re okay here… by yourself?” Martha looked at Tosh’s choice of resting place for the night.

“Oh, yeah. The sofa should be fine,” Tosh replied. Martha was pretty sure there was a tint of sarcasm to her tone. “Also, I sleep by myself almost all the time at home?” Tosh added.

Martha sighed. “You know what I mean, Tosh. We’re a lot more alone now, like completely.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Martha said, fishing around in her bag and pulling out a small card. “Here’s the business card for the hotel, in case you need to come find me. It has the address. Can’t exactly call.” She handed it to Tosh.

Tosh read it and looked back up at her. “Thanks.”

“Promise you’ll get me if something happens?”

“I promise,” Tosh said, flashing her a smile of reassurance.

Martha nodded and headed towards the door. She stopped and watched Tosh, who placed the card on her desk before rummaging through her bag and pulling out clothes.

She felt reluctant to go back outside into an empty world on her own but she didn’t have much of a choice. Didn’t feel like it at least.

So off Martha went.

***

Martha collapsed onto the hotel bed and pulled the duvet over herself. Pulling out her phone, she looked through the list of numbers on her mobile. She had already tried phoning them all, especially her mum, just wanting to hear her voice. She was supposed to call them the next day. Placing her phone on her nightstand, she stared at the ceiling.

Being all alone in this room didn’t bother her at all, but being alone on this street certainly did. Sleep seemed so much harder to achieve and the Hub seemed more and more appealing. She looked at the time: 2:03 A.M. Great. 

She started thinking about what they would have to do later in the morning, and about Tosh sleeping on that old sofa. Wondering if she was faring any better than her, she eventually drifted off into a short sleep.

Martha managed to get up later that morning. As she got ready, she decided not to tie up her hair, since her plan involved not being in the med bay too much.

As she walked across the Plass, she started to worry that Tosh wouldn’t be there, that would be gone as well. Her feet picked up the pace.

Inside, she found Tosh fiddling with the coffee machine. Some of her hair was sticking up a bit and her outfit was almost the same except for a different coloured t-shirt. She noticed Martha and looked up from her previous focus.

“Good morning,” Tosh said.

“Morning,” Martha replied.

“You look like you could use a coffee.”

“Yes, please.” Martha laughed. She could have said the same about her. “Is it that obvious? Though we do need a real breakfast.”

“There’s toast here,” Tosh said. “But, yes we do need to buy more.”

“Maybe today?”

“Today?”

“Think about it,” Martha said. “All that produce and perishable goods sitting on the shelves at the shops… it’s not going to last long, right? The non-perishables can be the last to go and last us much longer.”

Tosh leaned against the table. “All right. How much do we buy?”

“A week’s worth?” Martha said.

“Okay,” Tosh nodded, looking thoughtful. “I’ll need to get used to sleeping on that sofa.”

“Maybe you don’t have to.”

“What?” Tosh said.

“How much sleep did you get last night?”

Tosh sighed. “Some. Running almost entirely on caffeine now.” She handed Martha a cup.

“Ugh, I guess I'll be too.”

“So… what do you mean I don’t have to sleep on the couch?” Tosh asked.

Martha leaned forward conspiratorily. “We’re already shopping for food… we could also go mattress shopping? Unless you want to sleep outside the Hub?”

Tosh looked at her as if Martha had grown a second head. Actually, Martha had seen that happen to someone.

“I’ve never gone shopping at the end of the world before. Much less, mattress shopping,” Tosh finally said.

“Who knows?” Martha said. “It might even be fun.”

***

Martha sat down on a display mattress. “What about this one?” To her surprise, it was as soft as it looked. She ran her fingers along the surface. 

Their groceries sat in Martha’s car and they had decided to check out a shop on the way back with a selection of mattresses.

“No, thank you,” Tosh answered matter of factly. “I still think I should just get an inflatable one. When we get everyone back - if we do - how am I supposed to explain that I just had to sleep on a proper one in the middle of the Hub?”

“Well, it won’t be in the middle,” Martha said with a bit of amusement, “Probably a bit further away, like near the office.”

Tosh huffed. “You sound like the others.”

“Who?”

“The team. I hear all of them saying something like that,” Tosh said. There was a small smile on her face that quickly faded. Martha figured that she was likely thinking about how much she missed her friends.

“Sounds like we belong together. Torchwood and I.”

Tosh threw her a puzzled look. Martha had decided not to mention that she was thinking of joining Torchwood. Mostly because she still wasn’t sure. She had been freelancing for a long time now.

She did wonder what Tosh would think, though. Ultimately it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t get everyone back. She tried not to dwell on that at the moment.

She felt a shift in the mattress. Tosh sat down next her, a foot away, and said, “This does feel nice, though. Maybe my bed is due for an upgrade.”

Martha laughed. “I thought we were supposed to be thinking about where you’re actually going to be sleeping, Tosh.”

“It was the first thing to come to mind, sorry. But yes, there’ll be more time for that eventually,” Tosh answered with a weary sigh.

“Come on,” Martha stood. “Let’s find you the best inflatable mattress available. Actually, I was thinking…” she said, trailing off.

“What is it?”

“What if I slept at the Hub, too?”

“What?” Tosh said, standing up.

“I really don’t like sleeping in that hotel by myself. It just makes sense to be as close to the Hub as I can,” Martha said. “I mean, I don’t have a kitchen in my room, do I?”

“I don’t know. Do you?” Tosh replied, grinning. “Wait, we need a mattress for you, too!”

"Fine. It's settled then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh geez, this chapter took a long time to write and edit. Leave a comment/kudos if you liked it!
> 
> I'm @toshsato on tumblr!


	4. I Could Really Use a Wish Right Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some subtle references to the Big Finish audios Zone 10 and Dinner And A Show but don't worry if you haven't listened to them.

The Hub was dark and empty. Tosh was lying on her side, getting a view of the sofa a few feet away. Chills ran across her exposed skin and she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, listening to the sound of the water tower and breathing. behind her, a few away, Martha was sleeping. Well, Tosh thought that she might be but she didn't think her breathing was relaxed enough to indicate that. Her suspicions were confirmed before long.

"Are you still not asleep?" Martha whispered.

Tosh sighed. "No."

"I thought being here would help me sleep... but I don't know. We could do something?" Martha said.

Tosh rolled over onto her other side to face Martha. "Like what?"

Martha hummed seemingly in thought. She was flat on her flat and had one arm dangling off the side of the mattress. Her other one was resting beneath her head like a pillow. Her gaze shifted from the ceiling to Tosh.

"We could talk. That might help,” Tosh said.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Jack's Doctor. You and Jack's Doctor. Where does he take you?"

A smile appeared on Martha’s face for a moment before she answered. "Anywhere. All of space and time, you name it, his ship: the TARDIS, can take you there."

"The whole universe."

"Yeah, it's mad.” Martha rolled over onto her side, facing Tosh. She smiled. ”Aaand, it travels in time."

"Right... of course it does."

"Seriously! I didn't believe it at first but I've met Shakespeare,” Martha said excitedly.

"Oh, I believe you.” Tosh smiled, pursing her lips. “But… isn't that breaking the rules? Time travel is dangerous, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah we couldn't change any major events and no major spoilers, but it’s possible," Martha replied.

"Just… sort of hard to imagine," Tosh said.

"You'd love it, Tosh." Martha’s smile faded a bit.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because you're right, it's dangerous. All of it. My family got tortured and imprisoned,” Martha said. Her tone was serious and her smile was completely gone. “It wasn't the Doctor's fault but I just couldn't anymore."

"Are they all right?"

"They're alive. No permanent injuries, thank god but they have to live with what happened. I have to live with what I put them through."

"Wasn't your fault either,” Tosh said.

After a few moments of silence, Tosh said, "Do you want to tell me about one of the places you've gone?”

Martha told her a planet in the future. One of the many New Yorks, about humanity surviving millions and billions of years in the future. Tosh couldn't believe that humanity would make it that far, not after everything she'd seen. But eventually, she fell asleep while listening to a story of Martha’s like it was a fairytale.

***

In the morning, Martha checked CCTV. One clip it was business as usual, then there was a gap of time where nothing was recorded, and then everyone was gone. It was a huge mystery, like in Harry Potter. She wished she could use spells to fix this.

She went outside and leaned against the railing, savouring the fresh air and watching the waves. A soft breeze touched her face. She wondered if all of this would be taken away too.

Hearing footsteps, she looked over her shoulder to see Tosh approaching her with a slight spring in her step, laptop in hand. Martha tucked some of her hair behind her ears. 

"I need to show you this." Tosh handed it to her.

"What am I looking at?" Martha squinted at the screen with the glare of the sun in the way. 

"A device that looks very similar to what we saw," Tosh said.

Martha tilted the angle of the screen and got a better look at the device, which was almost the exact same shape. The only major difference was the colour, silvery-blue instead of purple. "It looks almost exactly the same. Is it the same one?" she said.

"I don't think so. It's a teleport device,” Tosh said. She pursed her lips. “Maybe it's from the same planet? Unfortunately, Torchwood doesn't have this device.”

Martha handed her back the laptop. "UNIT might,” she said.

Tosh frowned. "We can't access UNIT records from here."

"Unless... we went to London? We can’t access the Black Archive but a visit to HQ might help.”

"Maybe. Is there any hope of getting into the Black Archive?" Tosh said, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

She was a bit surprised that Tosh knew about it but then realized she really shouldn’t be. "If the security measures are still in place, I really don’t think so. Sorry,” Martha said. All that secret alien tech. Martha couldn’t blame her. “But London might still be worth a shot, yeah?"

"Yeah." Tosh nodded. 

Martha smiled. "We got a lead." 

"We got a lead," Tosh said triumphantly.

***

Cloudy skies sat on top of them. The scenery went by them in a blur. Tosh sat in the backseat behind the front passenger seat with her laptop out. She was learning and memorizing all she could about this device. The equipment sat in the trunk while the bag of snacks sat with them.

“So when was the last time you went to London?” Martha said, breaking Tosh out of her thoughts. “I mean... other than when the 456 came.”

“It- It’s been a while. Torchwood is very much 24/7. End of the world comes first.”

“I know what that’s like. Do you miss them?”

“Yeah. I do. Sometimes.” Tosh knew Martha must really miss her family. She wondered if it was similar to how she herself felt about her team. They were probably the closest thing she had to family. She wondered how Martha did it; maintained relationships with her family while doing what she did. What made the two of them so different? She thought about a mission she went on way back when she started asking why she couldn't have a normal life while doing this job.

It wasn’t long before they arrived, what with there being 0 traffic and not much need for obeying speed limits.

They approached the Tower of London and parked on the side of the road. Tosh retrieved her equipment from the trunk and followed Martha.

“Any ideas on how to get inside?” Martha asked, glancing over her shoulder at Tosh.

Looking up at the building, Tosh was reminded of when she was imprisoned by UNIT. The fact that she was now breaking into a UNIT prison/HQ with a former member was somewhat jarring. “Haven’t been trapped in any place I couldn’t get out of.” She laughed bitterly. “Hopefully, the same is true in reverse.” Tosh pulled an alien device out of her purse. “This can open any lock in just 45 seconds.”

“I can think of a few times that would’ve been helpful. That is… assuming it can, in fact, do that.”

Pressing it against the door, she waited with anticipation. To her surprise, it started to slide open but stopped after a few inches. Maybe there were mechanisms in place to keep it from opening too far in the case of an unauthorized opening.

They attempted to push it open further and managed to get the opening just wide enough for one person to slip through. Just barely.

“It’s going to be a tight fit. How about you go first,” Tosh said. “I’ll hand you my equipment.” 

Martha slipped through and together they managed to squeeze the bag through the door. 

“Do you think Jack would mind letting me borrow that?” Martha said as Tosh slipped through the crack herself.

“He might have some objections. We’re not supposed to take alien tech home, and you’re not Torchwood” Tosh replied. She let out a sigh of relief once she was completely inside.

“Right. Getting inside didn’t take as long as I thought it would,” Martha said. She looked around and Tosh followed her gaze. This particular entrance was a plain-looking hallway with white fluorescent lights leading to a set of double doors. “It looks different.”

“So, what are we looking for?” Tosh said.

“A computer room. Shouldn’t be too far in. Let’s go.”

Tosh followed Martha through the doors. Martha looked around and nodded towards a door left ajar. “That should be it, I think.”

They went inside. It was a large room filled with computers. Tosh imagined UNIT personnel sitting at these computers and all the people coming in and out of the place. Not the quiet she was used to. Suddenly she missed Owen. And Ianto. She didn't get his humour at times but she missed it right now. The world was too quiet.

“These computers are all connected to UNIT’s server. Data from it is downloaded onto them so we should have access to everything once we can get into the computers," Martha said.

Tosh was in her element as she found her way into the system. UNIT and Torchwood worked together sometimes but no way did they have access to UNIT intel without their authorization, not that they would ever give it.

***

Martha waited patiently and watched Tosh go through the files, with her glasses back on. Martha had to admit that Tosh looked almost at home here while focusing on her task, despite her apparent uneasiness about everything. Martha smiled slightly.

"I found it!" Tosh said with a wide grin appearing on her face.

"Does UNIT have it?" Martha looked at the screen. She braced herself for it to be in the Black Archive as she skimmed over the information.

"It's in New York," Tosh said. Her eyes widened. "There's storage there."

They sat there in silent defeat. Martha met Tosh's face with the same expression and realized they both knew what this meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially my longest fic so far. I hope you like it!
> 
> I'm @toshsato on tumblr!


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